His Follower
by Elle-Procrastinator
Summary: The Strawhat crew dock on an island in hopes of recovering from the tiring Thriller Bark escapade. Little do they know, things are about to get more hectic than ever when a certain crew member meets… a follower? Wait, what? Follows storyline. No pairings.
1. Day One: Meeting Mariella

This is a sort-of challenge response to _NekoiKurona_. The challenge is: One of the Strawhats gets an apprentice or follower/fan.

Just a note: this fic takes place shortly after the crew gets Brook. It's one of those filler days in between major arcs. This fic will most likely be four or five chapters long. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece.

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Day One: Meeting Mariella<strong>

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><p>Chaos was everywhere, radiating off in waves.<p>

The rain pelted down on the deck of the Thousand Sunny like cubes of ice; thunderclouds flashed and illuminated the serious faces of the Strawhat crew, their brows all furrowed in concentration as they worked to steer the Sunny to safety.

"Franky! To the left!" Nami ordered firmly. This was her expertise. This was what she was trained for.

The blue-haired shipwright complied to the request easily, using his steady hands to guide the ship to the left, avoiding a dangerous bolt of lightning, just barely.

The rest of the crew scrambled to follow Nami's orders, working diligently like a well-oiled machine until the sky started to clear and the thunderclouds drift away in search of a new victim once more.

Sanji sighed in relief when it was all over, lighting a cigarette casually, like he always did after any particular battle. This time, it had been a battle against the crazy Grand Line weather.

Chopper ran up to the front of Sunny, balancing precariously on the railing, his fur matted and wet. "Guys! I think I see an island!" he announced.

Luffy, who was drying out his hat as best he could, placed the straw hat back on his head and ran for Chopper. "Wah! You're right, Chopper!" he exclaimed. He too was hanging by an arm off the railing, which caused for Nami to chide him about safety.

"That's super!" Franky commented. He squinted off into the horizon, where the beginning of an island was creeping into his vision.

Luffy grinned, turning to face his battered and weary crewmates. "I wonder what kind of adventure we'll have here!" he pondered aloud.

Little did he know…

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><p>The island was rather small compared to others; it was mostly just a grass-covered slab of rock floating on the sea.<p>

Houses and stalls dotted the island, and a forest lay off to one side. The place seemed lively with the air of a farm-type island. Laidback and relaxing.

Robin claimed she had a book to finish, and so stayed behind on the ship. Franky had to make some repairs to the Sunny, and Chopper had to work on his Rumble Balls, so the two refrained from joining the crew to scour the 'Mystery Island' as well, as Luffy had put it. Brook also decided to stay on the ship, informing his crew mates that he had nothing to do on the island, anyway.

And so, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Nami set out to the island, Luffy leading the group with a broad grin.

Once they entered the village, Nami and Sanji separated from the main group in search for information (such as how long it would take until the log pose set), and cooking ingredients for the next long sailing trip. They watched as Nami stalked away with Sanji crooning over the orange-haired girl with hearts in his eyes.

"Che." Zoro scoffed quietly. How pathetic.

Luffy suggested looking for an island to his remaining two crew members, which Usopp agreed readily to. Zoro grunted his consent as well. He wouldn't mind a bottle of sake or two.

Maybe three.

Luffy finally chose a rickety looking diner because there was a picture of a duck out front, which he claimed reminded him of Carue back in Alabasta.

The three entered the somewhat stuffy restaurant-slash-bar, and were soon seated at a booth in the corner. Luffy ordered ten platters of meat at first, but Usopp warned him that Nami wouldn't be too happy, so he downgraded the request to_ eight_ platters rather reluctantly.

Usopp ordered a rice-centric meal, and Zoro settled for two hard bottles of sake.

The three ate rather boisterously, as if they were at an actual party. Usopp told Luffy and Zoro many tall tales, and Luffy started singing on the top of the booths table after thirteen platters of meat (oops). Zoro chuckled, gulping down his third bottle of sake without as much as a blink of an eye.

With his crew mates, it was easier to forget about the pain he had acquired back at Thriller Bark.

Sometimes, it puzzled him. But he wasn't complaining.

Just as Usopp was getting started on another tall tale and Luffy had his chopsticks in his mouth and up his nose, a high-pitched squeal broke through the incessant chatter of the diner and a body was promptly squished up against…

Zoro?

"It's you! It's really, really you! Oh man I am such a big fan you have to sign my poster and then you have to meet my family and then we can get married and then live –"

"Zoro, who's that?" Luffy asked, his words slightly muffled by the chopsticks.

The people in the bar had looked over curiously, but, upon seeing who it was, turned back to their separate conversations, evidently unfazed.

"I don't… know…" Zoro grunted, trying to push away the mass of curly red hair that was settled against the plane of his stomach. The person–a girl, apparently–rubbed her face up against Zoro's abs almost lovingly, as if she couldn't feel his hands pushing against her shoulders.

She had a pretty tight grip.

"Usopp," Zoro hissed after a while, with the girl still chattering away, feeling at his stomach. "_Help me_."

Since Luffy had somehow found the situation funny, and was laughing his head off and rolling on the table, Usopp complied with a little confused chuckle of his own, helping the green-haired swordsman pry the girl's twig-like arms (how were they so _strong_?) from around Zoro's middle.

Once the girl was held back by a wary Usopp, the trio finally got to see who she was and what she looked like.

The girl had a bunch of curly red hair, green eyes, and freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose. Her smile was goofy and a little awe-struck, her eyes wide. She looked no older than fourteen years of age, and wore a flowing, flower-patterned dress that floated to her rather knobbly knees and a cowboy hat around her neck. Her frame was petite and frail.

She looked very… Country-like, to say in the least.

She grinned, beaming up at a bewildered Zoro, not at all fazed to the fact that she was being held back like some rabid animal.

…Or something.

"Hi!" she chirped excitedly, "I'm Mariella, your future wife." She said matter-of-factly.

Luffy started laughing again at the statement, and Usopp let go of the eccentric young girl in surprise.

Upon realising she was free, Mariella lunged for Zoro's middle once again, who was frozen, a little disbelieving to his situation.

It seemed Lady Luck was _not_ in his favour that day.

His instincts kicking in, Zoro jumped to the side and out of the booth. Mariella landed face-first on the booth's chair, where Zoro had been sitting just a moment ago. She seemed to realise this, because she started to _smell _the seat.

Huh.

"Who the hell are you?" Zoro asked, a little more than freaked out by the ditzy girl.

Mariella sat back up, still smiling widely. "I've already told you, silly! I'm Mariella, your future wife!"

Zoro snarled as she said 'wife', and glared at Usopp, who had started to laugh at the hilarity of the situation as well, along with his captain. "I'm not your husband." He settled with saying, hoping that his death glare would make her go away.

It didn't.

"Yes, you will be!" Mariella insisted, "I'm your biggest fan!" from seemingly nowhere, she pulled out a frayed piece of parchment. "See?"

Luffy, Usopp and Zoro leaned forward simultaneously as the rolled up paper unfurled. On the surface, was a picture of Zoro's wanted bounty poster, only it was dotted with lipstick stains and girly hearts.

Luffy and Usopp promptly started laughing all over again.

Zoro frowned at the two, and then glanced over at Mariella, who was grinning happily, looking as if she would be content just staring at him all day.

He began to get a little uncomfortable from the never wavering stare and so slammed some money down on the table quickly. His hand resting lightly on his swords, Zoro nodded curtly to the bartender and grabbed hold of Luffy and Usopp, dragging them out of the diner.

Unfortunately, Mariella didn't take the hint, and followed them out. Her legs turned to jelly and her eyes into hearts, just like that _damned cook_.

Propping Luffy and Usopp upright again, he grunted, "Come on. Let's go back to the Sunny."

Luffy and Usopp exchanged not-so-manly giggles, but complied.

Zoro eyed Mariella. "Look. We're leaving now. Without you." He said firmly. He felt as if it was a little harsh, but then shrugged inwardly. He was well over freaked out and he was willing to do almost anything to get her away from him.

Mariella brushed off the comment, however. In some ways, she seemed like Luffy in demeanor. "You can't leave!" she exclaimed, "We're going to get married!"

And then, she jumped for Zoro's legs, wrapping her tiny body around his left calf muscle in a death grip.

"What the fu–"

"I'm never letting goooooo!" Mariella screamed at the top of her lungs, her grip tightening for good measure.

Zoro growled in annoyance.

Luffy laughed, speaking for the first time in a while, "Just let her come along for now, Zoro!"

"Yeah," Usopp added, "What harm could one little girl possible do?"

"Famous last words." Zoro mumbled, but sighed nonetheless. He started following his two crew mates to the Sunny–with Mariella sniffing his leg all the while, inhaling deeply.

And that was kind of how Zoro arrived at the Thousand Sunny later that day, with Mariella clinging to his leg like a lifeline.

As Luffy and Usopp animatedly told the rest of the crew on how the peculiar situation had come to be, Sanji smirked around his cigarette with a dangerous glint in his eye.

Zoro caught the expression, and growled low in his throat.

"Not one word, Dartboard Brow. Not–one–word."

Wisely, Sanji shut up.

But only for the moment.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued<strong>

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><p>Phew! Thanks for reading. This isn't over yet, though! Review, Favourite, add this to your Alerts, any or all would be appreciated! The next chapter should be up soon!<p> 


	2. Day Two: Show and Tell

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I do not own One Piece.

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Day Two: Show and Tell<strong>

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><p>She was just sitting there.<p>

Staring at him.

Zoro shifted in his seat a little uncomfortably, a scowl evident on his features. He looked around the mess hall of the Thousand Sunny, wondering how on _earth_ his crew mates could just sit there, eating, like she wasn't even there.

Mariella.

But then again, _they_ didn't have a pair of beady green eyes staring at them unceasingly. It was beyond creepy. It was like… Dart-Board Brow in the morning. _Not_ a pretty picture. Not to mention, it had been a whole day since meeting the red-headed girl and she had just come back the next day to see him again.

"Oi, Marimo, I worked hard on that food, so you better appreciate it." Sanji called with a small scowl of his own. Zoro looked down on his plate, which was still full of food. He couldn't eat. He was too freaked out to do so.

"Shut up, Ero-Cook," he retorted. Not one of his best replies, but his mind couldn't really process coherent thoughts at the moment.

Mariella stared at Zoro from across the table, cradling her chin in the palm of her hand. "Do you not like the food, _hubby_?" she crooned, putting extra emphasis on the nickname she had so lovingly given him.

Zoro slammed his fork down on the table. "Nami!" he said, a little louder than necessary, "How much longer do we have to stay at this goddamned island?"

Nami looked up from slapping Luffy's hand from her food, her expression changing from annoyance to amusement in two seconds, flat. "The log pose will not set until three days from now," she replied, batting her lashes innocently. She turned to Mariella. "You can stay here until then, dear."

…Did she _have_ a death wish?

"Absolutely not," Zoro said firmly.

"Why not, Zoro?" Luffy asked from across the room, meat in his mouth. "Let her stay! I like Mariella!"

Usopp, Brook, Franky and Chopper took up the chant, and soon enough, the mess hall was filled with cries of, "Let her stay! Let her stay!"

Mariella grinned, "Thanks, guys! I'm glad I can get to know my future husband's crew mates!"

Zoro's eye ticked.

"Nami," he warned, putting on his 'scary' tone of voice.

"Zoro," the orange-haired navigator mimicked, not fazed in the least, "I'll take ten percent off your debt," she offered with a devious grin.

Dang. He couldn't say no to that. "Fine," he said, resigned, "but she–" he pointed to Mariella, "–is_ not_ getting anywhere near the boys' cabins. Or the showers." He added as an afterthought. Better to be safe than sorry, he reasoned.

Nami nodded eagerly, exchanging a sly look with Robin, who covered her slight laugh with a delicate hand. "Deal."

"Yohohohohoho! My dear Mariella, it seems to me that you _like _Zoro-san, so to speak. Although, I don't have any eyes to see that in the first place! Yohohohohoho!"

Zoro cringed. Nami and Robin laughed. Luffy inhaled some more food. Usopp grinned. Franky said that it was 'incredibly super' of Mariella. Chopper clapped his hooves together and giggled.

And Sanji… Sanji spluttered in disbelief. "What?" he asked as the realization overcame him. "She _likes_ the Shitty Marimo?"

Irritation overrode Zoro's embarrassment. "Is it so hard to believe, Dart-Board Brow?" he drawled, smirking smugly at the cook.

"Yes," Sanji replied bluntly, causing a vein to protrude from Zoro's forehead. He turned to Mariella. "Are you _sure_ you like _him_?"

"Oi!" Zoro said indignantly. Lots of people liked him. He was likeable. Right?

"Oh, yes," Mariella said dreamily, "Ever since he got his first bounty, I knew he was the one for me."

…Oh, please. Someone gag him with a spoon.

"Awww!" Nami crooned, "How sweet." She turned to Zoro, a devious twinkle in her eye. "Isn't that sweet, _Zoro_?"

"No." the swordsman deadpanned in reply. It was creepy.

Mariella pouted, but she got over it quickly, all sunny smiles once again. She was definitely like Luffy in many ways. "_Hubby_, you should come and meet my parents to ask for their permission for my hand in marriage!"

Usopp snickered. "Yes, _hubby_, it's only tradition that you do so before marrying."

Chopper, Brook and Luffy all dissolved into a fit of giggles. Zoro glared at his long-nosed crew mate, who gulped audibly at the look.

"Or… not…" he corrected in a small voice.

Zoro nodded in satisfaction; at least _some_thing was right. For a second there, he had felt as if he was in some kind of alternate world.

…Or something.

"Oh!" Mariella piped up, "I almost forgot, I have school in half an hour!"

All the Strawhats turned to eye Mariella curiously. "School?" Franky asked, breaking the silence.

Mariella looked confused. "Yeah. We have a school system here. Of course, there's only one school, but still…" she perked up, "Oh, yeah! Today is supposed to be 'Show and Tell' day!"

"Show and Tell?" Robin asked curiously, always up for some new information.

Mariella laughed, "You guys don't know what Show and Tell is? Silly geese! Show and Tell is where you bring something from home and show it to the class. You have to talk about it and tell everyone why it's so special to you!" she ended, going back to staring at Zoro lovingly.

…And the shifting in his chair began once again.

"That sounds cool!" Luffy exclaimed, "I want to go, I want to go!"

"No." Nami said suddenly. She turned to look slyly at Zoro. "I think that _Zoro_ should go with Mariella."

Zoro choked around his fork.

"What?" Luffy started with a pout, "But I want to–" he stopped when Nami held a piece of meat under his nose, and took it from the navigator without another word, nibbling quietly.

"No way in he–" Zoro started, but Mariella cut him off with a high pitched squeal.

"That would be great!" She exclaimed. She jumped over the table, clinging to Zoro's bicep with that tight grip of hers. "Would you really be my Show and Tell item?" she asked with shining eyes.

"Absolutely no–"

"I'll take twenty percent off your debt," Nami said in a sing-song voice.

"…Fine."

"Yes!" Mariella exclaimed, tugging on Zoro's arm and forcefully pulling him out the door. "You are the _best_ hubby ever!"

The best hubby? He didn't _want_ to be a hubby, best or otherwise.

"Have fun, Swordsman-san," Robin couldn't help but say, completely straight-faced as the door slammed closed behind them. The rest of the crew started laughing.

Dazed, Zoro could only blink as Mariella continued to drag him farther away from the Sunny and deeper into the confines of the village.

He could still hear his crew mate's laughter ringing in his ears well after they were out of sight.

…Damn. What had he gotten himself into?

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><p>"Thank you, Lily, for showing us your pet turtle." Mariella's teacher, Miss Meyers, said amiably.<p>

The little girl smiled toothily and pocketed her pet, before going back to her desk.

"Now," Miss Meyers started, "Mariella? Are you ready to present your Show and Tell item?"

"Yes, Miss Meyers," Mariella replied respectfully. She turned to grin dreamily at Zoro, who was rammed into something she called a _desk_, whatever that was. His knees were bunched up to his chest, and the wood was digging into his thighs.

"Get me out of here," he snarled, ready to just forcefully break the 'desk' apart.

"Zoro, darling, stop playing around," Mariella chided.

Zoro's eyes narrowed, and he growled low in his throat. Finally, he gave up, taking one of his three swords at random and slashing the metal part that held the chair and table together clean in two.

Everyone stared.

"Well!" Miss Meyers clapped her hands after a while, "You're up, Mariella!"

How was the teacher _not_ concerned for her well-being after seeing that stunt he had pulled?

The people of the island, Zoro concluded, were crazy.

It seemed like intimidation was out of the question.

Mariella pulled Zoro up to the front of the 'classroom', trying to intertwine her fingers with his, but he always shook her off at each attempt. "This, everyone," the red-head started, building up suspense, "is Roronoa Zoro."

The result was instantaneous. The class tittered, leaning forward in interest. It seemed like they all had heard of the infamous pirate crew–and, evidently, weren't afraid, but rather intrigued.

Which brought him to the question once again–how? How could they _not_ be scared? He was a _pirate_ for crying out loud! And he didn't believe himself to give off the impression that he was all rainbows and sunshine and ponies and hair ribbons and–

"Zoro is the swordsman and first mate of the Strawhat crew," Mariella started, interrupting his train of thought. "His captain is a man named Luffy." She then continued to rant about the green-haired man, pointing out various attributes and such. "Zoro is also my soon to be husband," she added a while later.

Zoro, who had been listening half-heartedly, bored out of his mind, snapped to attention when he heard that _blasted _word again. "I'm not… _married_ to her." He stressed each word, accentuated with a growl.

Mariella giggled. "Of course you aren't, silly goose! We haven't even had the wedding yet!"

Zoro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose apathetically. Whatever. It wasn't as if he was actually going to get married to her, anyway.

Oh, darn. He just jinxed himself. Not that he believed in all that junk in the first place, but still.

Suddenly, as Mariella went on with her speech, Zoro caught sight of something. A very _familiar_ something.

His eye ticked.

Checking to make sure all eyes were on Mariella, Zoro inched as discreetly as possible to the right, where an eye and ear just so happened to be.

Robin.

He glared down at the single eye, which looked up innocently in turn. A flowery scent invaded his senses, and out popped a mouth, under said eye. "I'm incredibly sorry for this, Swordsman-san," Robin's lips said smoothly, "but everyone wanted to know what was going on. I, myself, wanted to see what a Show and Tell truly was."

That did not appease Zoro in the least.

Robin seemed to sense that, for her lips curved into an amused smile. "If it helps any," she started, "The rest of the crew are all just outside the classroom. Perhaps you could… introduce them to the class?"

Oh… _Oh_. How very devious of her. Of course, he wouldn't expect any less from the archeologist; after all, she had won over everyone but him in the first week she had been serving as a tag-along on Merry, back then.

Shuffling back to Mariella's side, he stopped just in time for Mariella to wrap up her speech and rub her face up against his arm in what he supposed she thought was a loving gesture.

…Right. The plan. He cleared his throat, trying to make the sound come out as something other than a grunt. "Excuse me, but I believe that Mariella's Show and Tell isn't over yet."

Mariella at first looked confused, but then her eyes widened and filled with tears, which surprised Zoro, to say in the least. She flung herself at him, burying her face in his stomach, positively wailing. "Oh, yesyesyes, of _course_ I'll marry you!"

The class clapped politely.

Why was she… Oh. She thought he was going to… She believed that he was… No. Nonononono.

"What?" Zoro burst out, "I'm not marrying you, brat!"

Mariella paid him no heed, bawling her eyes out and soaking his shirt. Zoro growled in irritation. This was not how he planned everything to work out. He could practically feel Robin's crinkled eyes filling with laughter.

Plus, he could hear his crew mates hyena-like howling from through the classroom door.

With Mariella still clinging to his waist, Zoro took two long strides to the door and flung it open. In tumbled the crew, one by one, all hooting with laughter.

Zoro's eye ticked.

He pried Mariella away from him, holding her out an arms distance. "Class," he announced, "This is the rest of the Strawhat crew. Mariella is going to tell you _all_ about them." And with that, he stalked out the door, headed for the ship.

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><p>"Damn that Marimo," Sanji growled an hour later, as he and the rest of the crew stumbled onto the deck of the Thousand Sunny.<p>

Nami rubbed at her aching shoulders. "I'm _so_ raising his debt by fifty percent."

"What are you talking about, guys? That was fun!" Luffy said.

"Fun?" Usopp asked incredulously, "What's fun about a room full of kids poking and pinching at your skin?"

"Oh, but you forgot, Usopp-kun, I _have_ no skin! Yohohohohoho!" Brook crowed.

Robin looked up in amusement from her book, lounging on a chair. "I assume that you had a rough time?"

"Yes," deadpanned Sanji, Nami and Usopp.

"No!" declared Luffy, Franky, Brook and Chopper happily.

Robin smiled under a carefully placed hand. "I see."

"Has anyone even _seen _Zoro since then?" Nami asked the rest of the crew.

Usopp shrugged. "I heard him mutter something about going back to the Sunny before he left."

Everyone exchanged similar looks. Nami groaned.

"Alright," she sighed, "let's go look for his _lost_ hide."

The Strawhats all agreed. It was rather obvious.

Once again, Zoro's navigational skills hadn't failed him.

Oh, boy.

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><p><strong>To Be Continued<strong>

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><p>Thanks for reading! Thanks a million for the reviews, favourites, and alerts!<p> 


	3. Day Three: Swimming Catastrophe

Thanks to _Red Voident Dragon, NekoiKurona, _and _sunshineandmoonlight_ for the positive feedback and sorry for the wait!

**Disclaimer:** I hate disclaimers, but they're necessary. I don't own One Piece, yo.

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Day Three: Swimming Catastrophe<strong>

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><p>Sanji was the one who had found the small swimming area.<p>

He told the crew that he had been walking in the woods–for no reason, Zoro might add. Suspicious, suspicious–when he had stumbled through the clearing and caught sight of the miniature river-slash-waterfall.

"So, what do you guys think?" Sanji asked casually, lighting a cigarette. "Should we go and hang out there for the day?"

Chopper, Luffy, Usopp and Brook agreed heartily. Franky and Robin shrugged, indifferent to the proposal, while Nami nodded in excitement. "That sounds like fun! We should all go and relax there."

"You just want to see Nami and Robin in their yellow polka-dot bikinis, Ero-Cook." Zoro muttered.

"Shut up, shitty Marimo!" Sanji growled, aiming for a strike at Zoro's head. "I would never be so sick of mind!"

Zoro countered immediately, taking hold of his leg and unsheathing a sword at random. He grinned, and Sanji scowled, bringing his other leg up so that Zoro had no choice but to let go and step back, lest he wanted his nose smashed in.

Nami interrupted the little work out before it could really begin. "How do _you_ know I have a yellow polka-dot bikini, Zoro?"

Sanji's eyes bugged out of his head. "You actually have one?" he asked Nami, before turning on Zoro. "How the hell do you know that, Marimo?"

Zoro ignored him, sheathing his sword, and shrugged. "Is it itsy bitsy and teenie weenie?" he asked.

Nami nodded slowly. "Yes…"

Zoro grinned, "Well, I just guessed at random; you have a bunch of clothes so I figured, eh." He held up his hands in surrender, this time glancing at Sanji. "I'm not some underwear draw snooper like Dart Boart Brow over there, so you can relax."

Sanji's aforementioned eyebrow ticked in annoyance. "Why, you…!"

As the two got into yet another fight, Nami sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Unfortunately, she was well used to their idiocy.

"Yosh, let's go to the pool, everyone!" Luffy declared, ignoring his bickering crew mates and his agitated navigator.

Chopper, Usopp and Brook all cheered at that.

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><p>"This is kind of nice," Nami commented, surveying the little river-type area that Sanji had led them to.<p>

Luffy, Chopper, Usopp and Brook, all wearing rubber ducky floats around their waists, ran for the water, laughing like maniacs.

The huge splash that emerged as a response to their abrupt entrance covered Nami head to toe, leaving her dripping wet and shivering. She growled in annoyance. "I take back what I said earlier." She mumbled irritably.

Robin laughed lightly from next to her.

"Idiots! Look what you've done to my poor Nami-swan!" Sanji berated the four, before holding out a fluffy white towel for Nami to take. "Here you go, Nami-swaaaan!"

Nami took the towel form him, smiling sweetly. "Thank you, Sanji-san," she said, causing the blonde to go into cardiac arrest.

Zoro surveyed the area, his eye landing on the small little waterfall not short from the river. He grinned. This could actually be… relaxing.

Oh, how wrong he was.

"Hey, everyone!"

Mariella ran up to the Strawhat crew, grinning manically. In her hand was a rubber ducky float, and she wore a blue and white swimsuit over her person.

Zoro's eye ticked and he whirled around to glare accusingly at an attempting-to-appear-innocent Sanji. "You set this whole thing up," he stated, growling at the chef.

Sanji merely grinned a little, lighting a cigarette. "I have no idea what you're talking about, shitty Marimo." He stated calmly, sticking the cigarette in his mouth and exhaling.

Zoro opened his mouth to retort, but that was when Mariella caught sight of him, and promptly went in for the kill. She landed at his feet and grabbed hold of the two legs in a four-limbed hug, scrambling upwards until her feet her wrapped around the swordsman's middle and her grinning face was all up in Zoro's bubble.

His _bubble_, damn it!

"Hi," Mariella breathed, looking delirious with happiness.

Zoro grunted in response. Damn cook, ruining his chance to meditate in peace!

He sighed, looking down at the girl hugging him koala bear style.

Now, to get her off of him…

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><p><em>Ohm… Ohm… Ohm…<em>

Zoro breathed in his nose and out his mouth, concentrating solely on his inner being. The waterfall gently pitter-pattered over his person, calming him.

He was one with the water…

"Are you done meditating yet?" a voice asked in a stage-whisper, jolting Zoro from his meditating stance.

The swordsman glared at Mariella, who was all up in his face, looking bored out of her mind. "No," he got out between clenched teeth, "Maybe you should go play with Luffy and Chopper," he suggested.

Anything to keep her away from him and his meditating time. It was a delicate process!

Mariella pouted, which quite frankly made her look like a drowned rat, what with her hair matted to her skull and over her eyes. "But I want to play with you," she whined, "You have to entertain me, since you're my hubby and all!"

Zoro ignored her, closing his eyes once more. Become one with the water…

"–and as my husband-to-be you should listen to my every–hey, are you even listening to me?"

_Ohm… Ohm… Nag… Nag…_

Oh, God, if this was what married life was like, he was never settling down.

…NOT that he and Mariella were married. Because _that_ was just preposterous.

Zoro resettled into his previous position, legs and arms crossed, eyes closed.

_Ohm… Ohm… Ohm… Who the hell is blowing on my eyelids-ohm… Who the hell is touching my thigh-ohm… Who the hell–what the hell it's getting higher!_

Zoro's eyes snapped open and he clamped a hand over Mariella's, which was situated at his inner thigh. "What… are you doing?" he asked between clenched teeth.

Mariella flashed a smile. "Isn't it obvious?"

Zoro growled, eye twitching. It looked like he wouldn't be getting in any meditation time at all. He stood, wading through the waters with Mariella following close behind.

* * *

><p>"Damn cook," Zoro snarled, eyes narrowed and staring menacingly at Sanji who was waist deep in the water, as was he.<p>

"Shitty Marimo," Sanji tossed back, curly eyebrow raised.

There need not be any further encouragement than that, and Zoro and Sanji lunged for one another in unison. Fists and feet collided furiously, as Zoro had left his swords on dry land.

"Let's get him, guys!" they vaguely heard Luffy exclaim somewhere to the right, not really paying attention as they sparred fiercely in the waters.

"Yeah!" came the jumbled chorus of Chopper and Usopp. Sanji swung a leg up, but Zoro caught it and retaliated with a fist aimed at the cook's face. Suddenly, a huge weight pressed against the swordsman's shoulder blades, causing him to breathe out in surprise, right before he hit the waters with a great _splash_!

Water filled his nostrils and clouded his senses. Suddenly, he realised that he couldn't breathe, as he was underwater. Zoro scrambled for air, tossing Luffy, Usopp and Chopper off his person. Coughing and choking with water streaming down his nose, Zoro didn't care nor notice when a slight pressure fell on his lips, blowing hot air into his mouth, which only caused for him to start the coughing fit all over again.

"Oh, no! I'll save you, hubby!"

Through the haze that was his mind, the swordsman vaguely registered the annoying voice of Mariella before air was entering his body again. He coughed and wheezed, trying to tell whoever-it-was that no, attempting to give him CPR was only making things worse because he was most obviously conscious, albeit a little winded. He finally choked out a protest, eyes screwed shut and trying to control his coughing now that he had told said person to lay off the so-called saving.

…Not that she–he honest to God hoped it was a she–listened, anyway.

After one more attack to his lungs, Zoro finally managed to hold up a hand. Thankfully, no more attempts at CPR were made, and through watering eyes, the green-haired man peered at the person before him with difficulty.

Red hair…stupid expression on her stupid face…

Mariella.

She'd…_kissed_ him (okay, CPR, but same thing!).

_Why_? Why did the Gods–not that he believed in them in the first place–hate him so?

On second thought, he'd rather it be a boy to 'save' him than _her_.

"Ero cook!" he snarled, glaring at a laughing Sanji. Was it getting warmer or was it just him? "You set this all up!"

Sanji held up his hands in an innocent manner, now trying to muffle his laughter. "Hey, I didn't ask Luffy to jump on you… it actually worked better than I thought it would…"

Zoro rubbed a hand over his flaming face, steeling himself. Slowly, he raised his head to gauge Mariella's reaction.

The girl had a stupidly goofy expression on her stupidly goofy face. Oh, great.

He'd never live it down.

* * *

><p>It was a day after the <em>incident<em>. They were back on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, soaking up the sun's rays. Thankfully, Zoro hadn't seen Mariella since the incident from the previous day, and the crew had ceased all teasing for the time being.

"BARGABA!" Zoro swiped at his tingling nose in irritation, his eyes watering.

Sanji snickered around his cigarette from his place next to Nami. "Was that a sneeze, Marimo?"

"Shut u–BARGABA!" Zoro tried, cutting himself off. He scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing. "I don't know why I've been sneezing so much lately."

"You know what they say, Zoro. If you sneeze, it means someone's talking about you," Nami quipped, taking a sip of smoothie.

"Well I–BARGABA!"

Sanji snorted automatically. "Who would talk about him?"

The three went silent as Sanji's rhetorical question sunk in. Then, they all groaned.

"Mariella." The three agreed in unison.

* * *

><p><strong>To Be Continued<strong>

* * *

><p>I couldn't help doing the Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini thing! If some of you don't understand the reference, it's just a song that was really popular, called Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland, I believe.<p>

Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think! Sorry if it sucked; my funny bone left me a while ago and hasn't come back as of yet.


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